Olympics

The Human Benchrest: The Enduring Legacy of MAJ Ernie Vande Zande

by

Ernie Vande Zande was more than a national champion and record-setter; he was the rare competitor who made everyone around him better. Known as “the Human Benchrest,” the Army major and Camp Perry champion combined world-class precision with a quiet willingness to help any shooter who genuinely wanted to improve. His classic article Sights, Wind and Mirage still teaches competitors how to read conditions decades after it was written. Smallbore lost more than a legend when Ernie passed in 2018—it lost a mentor, a gentleman, and one of the finest ambassadors the sport has ever known.

From Dionysus to the Edict: The Olympic Whiplash Nobody Planned

by

In 2024, the world tuned in to Paris and was treated to a lavish, high-budget revival of pagan imagery—complete with nods to Dionysus, the ancient god of intoxication, ecstasy, and losing yourself so completely that personal responsibility becomes someone else’s problem. It was art, we were told. It was symbolism. It was “inclusive.” It was definitely not accidental. And it certainly wasn’t Christian.